Latest news & events

Making the case for people and place

Angela Jones, Chair of ADEPT North of England Board and Director of Thriving Places, Westmorland & Furness Council, has taken over the role of ADEPT President for the forthcoming year.

In her inaugural address at the ADEPT President’s Awards, Angela outlined her key priorities for the year ahead, which will focus on making the case for people and place - not just a theme, but a strategic mindset and call to action for the sector.

In summary, this will include the following:

1. Influence – speaking with one voice to drive change.
2. Innovation – creating space for new solutions and creativity in place shaping 
3. Inclusivity – ensuring places work for all communities and our workforce.

Further detail on each of the priorities is detailed below:

• Influence – we must advocate for the multifaceted concept of place, influencing both national government, businesses and residents to work in the same direction. ADEPT will continue to play a critical role in providing one voice, influencing policy and supporting Place Directors to navigate complexity by building stronger narratives that drive change and engender support.
• Innovation – in making the case for place, we need to create the space and conditions to drive and lead innovation across areas like low carbon technology, decarbonisation and digital solutions. But innovation is also about culture – supporting bold ideas, calculated risks and sharing what works. Place leaders must adopt governance systems that accelerate innovation and break down barriers.
• Inclusivity – we must adopt an inclusive outlook in place leadership, engaging with increasingly diverse communities to build infrastructure that works for everyone. The pursuit of economic growth must happen in parallel with inclusive growth, to address socio-economic disparities, delivering digital, energy and transport infrastructure that enhances connectivity and accessibility. At the same time, we must support workforce development through succession planning, skills investment and by opening pathways for young people into the sector. Ensuring inclusivity in our own workforce and people has never been so important.

Angela Jones, President of ADEPT - inaugural speech

The speech below was given at the ADEPT Spring Conference on 22nd May 2025.

Good evening everyone,

First, let me say how delighted I am to be standing here tonight, not just as your incoming President, but as a passionate advocate for people and place.

I’m especially honoured to follow Ann Carruthers, whose Presidential theme of resilience in place has created a legacy of real strength and clarity for us all to build on in the coming months.

Ann, thank you for your leadership, your energy and your commitment to supporting our members during the ups and downs in the political landscape this year, and for creating a space where so much has been achieved despite all the ‘plot twists’!

Those that were at the conference earlier, we heard that having balls up in the air creates an opportunity to make sure that they fall in the right place. And that place directors and leaders should be ringmasters. 

I stand here tonight as the Director of Thriving Places for Westmorland and Furness Council. It’s a title I wear with immense pride because the idea of ‘thriving places’ is what drives me. 

It is at the very heart of what I want to champion in the year ahead which is Making the Case for People and Place.

For followers and participants of ADEPT’s PACE programme, you’ll already know where I’m heading with this!

I know that many of us have spent our careers making the case for our places. Fighting for investment, leading through change, advocating for our communities.

Why this theme – and why now?

Because we are in a period of enormous challenge, but also of profound opportunity. 

The government’s agenda around devolution is expanding, the shape of the political sphere is changing, budget pressures remain severe. And still, the issues that matter most—climate, housing, economic growth, skills, transport, health, net zero are all rooted in place.

Place matters; and we are the workforce, the team that gets place-based matters addressed, talked about, solved and improved. And that is something we should be proud of, not just for now, but for future generations. We will be and should be good ancestors.

But we can’t talk about place without talking about people. The minister, Mary Creagh MP, said earlier we need to ‘speak human’. 

Thriving communities, sustainable infrastructure, vibrant economies—these don’t just happen through policy. 

They happen because of people: our residents, our teams, our partners. So, as President, I want to shift the conversation—just slightly—from “Place” to “People and Place.” Because one cannot thrive without the other.

What does making the case really mean?

For me, it means three things: Influence, Innovation, and Inclusivity.

Let’s start with Influence.

Place leaders don’t just manage services, we shape and communicate the narrative of a place. We see the whole picture and have the power to bring others together, which means businesses, communities, residents and national partners working collaboratively. 

ADEPT plays a vital role here by helping us speak with a stronger collective voice.

This is especially important now. If we’re going to tackle the major challenges ahead we need to influence with confidence and credibility. That’s what ADEPT is here for and that’s what I’ll champion while I am President.

Second is Innovation.

We know that place leadership doesn’t stand still, it’s constantly shifting and evolving to meet the changing needs of our people and places and to incorporate developments in technology.

But as we all know, true innovation isn’t just about embracing new tech. It’s about culture. It’s about creating the space for bold ideas, supporting calculated risks and crucially, sharing what works. It’s about ensuring that our decisions enable progress rather than stifling it.

I want ADEPT to continue being a hub for innovation, where learning, research and experimentation are valued, and where ‘failure’ can be seen as a stepping stone to better ideas and solutions.

Tonight, we're in the Gladstone Room, and William Gladstone, as many of you know, was four times Prime Minister - he said that no man ever became great or good without making many great mistakes. So, we want to see failure as being something that is actually embraced: but let's fail fast.

Finally, I want to talk about Inclusivity.

This isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a fundamental principle. Our communities are diverse and our places must reflect that. So must our profession. That means understanding lived experiences, designing spaces that work for everyone and delivering infrastructure that connects people. Our goal is an island of thriving communities, not strangers.

This will also mean that we need to look inward, at our own workforce. Succession planning, skills development and genuine inclusivity in our sector are essential if we’re going to build the resilient teams we need for the future. 

The Find Your Path campaign has helped us to understand and develop a way to reach young people who can inject a broad and exciting new range of skills, experiences and viewpoints into our sector.

I think we all realise that the challenges facing local authorities are not getting easier. 

Maintaining capacity and capability amid funding pressures is perhaps our biggest test. But if we make the case powerfully, collaboratively and consistently, we can ensure place services are recognised not as nice-to-haves, but as critical levers for growth and community wellbeing.

So what do I want from this year?

I want us to speak with confidence. There should be no imposter syndrome in this room and in our sector.

I want us to show leadership and evidence based knowledge: not just in our own places, but nationally.

And I want us to be bold, to hold our nerve. There's a lot of change, it can be very nerve wracking. You might be anxious about the future, I certainly was when I went through local government reorganisation. But hold your nerve, be ambitious, keep reaching for more, asking for better and challenging the status quo.

Making the case for people and place will be my focus and it is not just a slogan. It’s a strategy. It’s a mindset. And I believe, we can make it a movement.

Let’s influence with purpose and ability. Let’s innovate with energy and vision. And let’s include everyone, always. Let's not hide our light under a bushel.